Moonlight
by Scarbantia
Summary: Heard about a place today, nothing never hurts again


A/N:  
Believe me, it's a Laby fan-fic, I mean Jareth is in, some of the Goblins and our favorite As the World falls down-melody too. Sorry J/S romance fans, but THAT girl is not in this fic. She is not even mentioned. She is ...I don't know... at the other side of the universe, or in an alternate reality /waves farewell to Sarah/.  
Oh yes, just one word: the castle. Do not imagine a medieval castle, you know, turrets , but a XVIII-XIX.century one, like Schoenbrunn or Versailles, just smaller.  
Without further ado...

Disclaimer: Jareth and the goblins are not mine, they belong to Jim Henson and George Lucas

**Moonlight**

The castle stood on the edge of the wood. Nobody knew who had built it or owned it. It just stood there behind the high walls and kept its secrets while the centuries were flying away.

One warm summer evening two were crouching in front of the gates. Dressed in jeans and t-shirts, almost the same way, the boy was a blond, freckled teen, the girl wasn't older then 15. She wore her long, red hair in a low ponytail. She looked longingly inside the park.

" We ought to go back!" said the boy looking around nervously. " If somebody realize our escapade..."

"Bah, nobody miss us." waved the girl and straigthened herself.

The boy stood up making a face and gazed in among the grids of the gates. Dusk lurked among the trees and he shivered.

" Let's climb in!" suggested the girl.

"What?! You are not serious!" gasped the boy. "What if somebody catch you?"

" Easy,Peter, it's unoccupied." her lips curled up into smile. " I have already asked about."

" Then why? What could be interesting about a ruined castle?"

" I don't know." the girl gazed toward the depths of the park and for a heartbeat time she was lost in her reveries. " But I have to go."

" Have to go... sillyness! Let's get back to the orphanage! We are in trouble , if they..."

" I'm going to climb in." she said without hesitate.

Before Peter could say a word, she climbed up, searching carefully the grip for her hands among the edges of the grids. Jumping down she opened her arms.

" See, it's easy. Are you coming?"

Peter couldn't believe his eyes. This lunatic takes it seriously.

" Cathy, don't do it!"

" Do you come with me?" she looked into his eyes with an intensity that made his heart race.

" Of course not! I'm not crazy to break my neck for a ruin."

" As you wish." Cathy shrugged and turned to go.

" Cathy, no!" asked Peter desperatly forgetting his anger.

Cathy looked back and noticing that her friend was standing there as the very picture of misery, she felt pity for him.

" I'll be back in a minute." said with her usually sweet smile.

Peter' s hands finched into fist as he watched Cathy walking away. After some steps the path took a turn among the trees and the bushes hided her from his sight.

Inside it was silence, as if the whole world had been sunked, there was nothing else, but the ageless lonlyness of the park. Cathy started down the long, narrow, weed-covered path, walked for a while till she could see something white. The castle.

She didn't understand why this longing, this almost aching surge to find this castle. Since the first time she had heard about this place, not long after she had landed in that damned orphanage, she felt it. Even the mere thought of it broke her lonlyness, what lurked always in her mind, in her heart. Like a lighthouse in the sea, it drawned with the promise of something better. She walked to the gates almost every time she managed, just to get a glimpse. Today she summoned the courage... today she gone this far. And now ahead of her was the castle, so she walked on.

Warm breeze raised chasing away the clouds, and suddenly there was the full moon on the sky, shining like a silver mirror. Something strange happened. In that moment the park came...alive. Yes, that was the right word: alive. As if a veil had fallen, everything became beautiful, real and silvery from the moon beam. She could hear whispered voices, hushed laughs, the bushes kept bending, tiny creaks were heard form the shadows.

Ahead still laid the castle, wich had changed. The walls became pearly white, the windows were sparkling silvery. The warm breeze brought the sound of tinkling music, a sweet waltz, strangely familiar and alien all at once. She had heard it before, yes, but she couldn't remember where. The melody beckoned her in its web, and she stood there, rooted to the spot. The feeling that she was not alone grew stronger and stronger, just like the panic she got.

Then Cathy heard gigling, the voice came directly behind her back. Her stomach tied in a knot as she whirled, but nobody was there. Again the gigling and whispers behind her...Trembling she dared to look behind her. Nothing. She didn't notice the white owl perched on the branch above her head.

The branch creaked, Cathy whirled with a gasp, nearly fainting at the sight of two creatures jumping directly in the path. The two creatures and Cathy watched each other in horror, then began to scream in unison and ran away in the opposite directions. The owl spread its wings and leaped into the air, flying after the girl.

Cathy ran from the fear toward the gates, wich seemed to be in endlesly far, till she was out of breathe. She stopped, she could barely stand, she have to lean against a tree. She felt so dizzy.  
This is not happening. They were like those... those... goblins, she had seen in the movie last month. That was just a film - protested her mind. But these creatures seemed to be pretty real.  
Answering her thoughts drummbeats and the noise of footsteps were flying toward her. She gathered her last strenght and started to run again.

Trees seemed to stand in her way and brush grabbed at her ankles, but she fledt like a deer hunted by the wolf. A hole caught her foot and she fell. All became silent, as she trembling stood up, just the melody floated in the air, sweet, suave, inviting...

Her eyes caught a glimpse of movement, and she looked into the shadows to see the image of a man taking shape. He was tall and slender, dressed in white poet shirt , grey breeches and black boots. His honey-gold blond hair hung long to his shoulder, spiky on the top of his head. The man slowly emerged into the moonlight, small smile played on his lips. Cathy backed away, but a glance into his mismatched eyes stopped her. They seemed to summon the moonlight...

In this moment she knew who this man was. He looked exactly like Bowie in that new film, but he was somehow different too. Ancient beauty, power and secret radiated from him. Jareth, yes, that was his name.

" I have been waiting for you, Cathy" he said, his voice like velvet pulled at the corners of her soul , as he reached for her.

It was a warm summer evening just like that damned evening 20 years ago. The young man stood before the gates and gazed with true wrath and hate inside. Early furrows on his forehead witnessed about hard years.  
He could remember on the anxiety, the waiting and then the panic when he had understood: Cathy won't come back. The fear had pursuited him to the police station, he had begged for help to find her. He hadn't realized the suspicious look on their faces, he had readily answered their questions, unaware that doing so would put him in  
danger. Till that awful moment when he had caught at last: Good Lord, they think I killed her!

He had protested asserting that Cathy had been his friend, his only friend...for vain. The rumors had circulated... He felt sick still today from the gossips, that he had raped and murdered her, from the grins, from the smirkingly asked questions about the awful things he had done to her.  
The only reason why he hadn't landed in the Juvenile Hall was that Cathy's body never had been founded.

Peter couldn't explain Cathy's disappearance and neither could anyone else till today. He had moved from the town as far as he could, but neither town was far enough. All this years he have been spending to forget, but standing there again he felt the guilt and helplessness wash over him. It was strange being back, he had never expected to be here again, but he was tired from the runaway. Knowing that after 20 years, after all the unsuccesful investigations it was a hopeless try to find anything, he had to come here. He couldn't explain why. Maybe just to see that damned castle...maybe just to find peace.

He forced his mind away from his memories and with sudden decision he started to climb inside. Jumping down he stood for a moment, he could see Cathy's smile so vivid, then he searched for the path she had walked away on. The path still layed there covered with ferns and he followed her once steps to welcome wathever was to find there.

Shadows and semi-dark greeted him, the trees were swaying in the soft wind, everything seemed to be threatening. Had she felt fear?  
In the distance he could see the white walls of the castle, so he walked toward. Suddenly the wind rose, the clouds were flying away and the full moon overhead illuminated the way. He stopped as a music-box like melody  
floated toward him on the wings of the wind shattering the silence. He followed his ears and stepped out from among the trees.

Ahead laid a park, shiningly white paths among emerald green grasses,and a rose garden full with old, scented roses at the right. Two figure came out from the rose garden and strolled with slow paces on the path, arm in arm. One of the two was a man, his blond hair floated in the breeze, as he was joking gently with his lady. She was dressed in white gown with full skirt, her red hair felt in luxurious waves on her shoulder. Jewels were sparkling on her in the moonlight as she raised her head and laughed.

Peter gasped at the sight. It's not possible... it's a madness...still as young as she was...

" Cathy!" he tought he had screamed, but it was just a whisper.

Still, the girl ahead heard him, because she looked directly at Peter. Their eyes met and slowly a knowing smile appeared on her lips.

Dark cloud slipped in front of the moon, Cathy raised her hand. Gazing into Peter's eyes she waved a last Good bye until she and Jareth ,as the moonlight faded, vanished from sight.


End file.
